Roasted Delicata Squash with Chickpeas, Potatoes, and Kale

It’s a weird but unexpectedly good adaptation of a recipe with a weird but unexpectedly good combination of flavors, that just doesn’t look that appealing (in my opinion), and probably doesn’t sound all that appealing either.

I almost didn’t post it.

The original recipe is from the super awesome Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson, and I made it once– with a bunch of substitutions of my own design– and loved it.

The only problem was that it contained miso. A lot of miso. And for someone who loves miso soup, my girlfriend can’t take the strong miso flavor when it come to other things like roasting rubs or marinades…

In retrospect, this wasn’t such a bad problem to have, since it meant I got to eat the whole batch myself! But I think meals always taste better when they’re shared.

So I set about to make a miso-less version of this dish that calls for ¼ cup of miso (and a little dab of red curry paste). And I settled on a combination of tahini and Korean kochuchang (red chili paste) as substitutes. I told you– strange… but trust me.

First, consider my other substitutions, which I was somewhat proud of: the original recipe calls for tofu (I used chickpeas), and kale (I used broccoli the first time I made it), and toasted pepitas (I used sunflower seeds).

By the way, these were all excellent choices, and since then I’ve become increasingly obsessed with the deliciousness and simplicity that is oven-roasted broccoli! But that’s another story…

The tahini/chili paste substitution for miso and curry paste is the one I think is so strange (and not all that elegant looking), but if you like those flavors in general, and bear with me and give it a try, I think you’ll enjoy this dish as much as my girlfriend did, when I told her I’d made it again without miso. (Or stick to Heidi Swanson’s original version and use ¼ cup miso and several teaspoons of red curry paste instead!)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the delicata squash in half, then use a spoon to scoop out and discard the seeds. Peel the squash (or not!) then slice into half-moons.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, tahini, kochugaru, 1 tsp. of the lemon juice (set aside the rest), and the pinch of salt.

3. In a second (medium-sized) bowl, toss the squash, potatoes, and chickpeas with ⅓ cup of the dressing from the large bowl. Transfer this mixture to the baking sheet and spread out evenly. Roast for 25-30 minutes, tossing the vegetables once or twice during that time.

4. Meanwhile, in the large bowl, add the rest of the fresh lemon juice to what remains of the dressing, and toss the kale (or broccoli) in this sauce. If using broccoli, add the broccoli to the other ingredients on the baking pan when there are only 8-10 minutes left of the roasting time. (If using kale, there’s no need to bake it at all– the dressing will soften the kale.)

5. Once the squash, potatoes, and chickpeas (and perhaps broccoli) are done roasting, pour the roasted vegetables into the kale and gently toss to mix well. (The kale will wilt just a bit and will take on a very nice texture.)

Nice! (I just did a google image search of “crown prince squash” since I didn’t know what those looked like– they really look remarkably similar to kabocha! I’m curious if they taste that similar too…)

If you’re interested you should check out the Japanese-ish recipe I posted recently for an easy roasted Kabocha Soup (with leeks)!

Oh you’re right! I didn’t even think of that, but this really would be perfect for Thanksgiving… not only the combination of ingredients, but it’s very easy to prepare, since it’s mostly just hands-off roasting in the oven– as long as it doesn’t interfere with the turkey’s oven timeslot…

Thanks! I like chickpeas, too, and they’re really great in salads– you should definitely try adding them sometime!

Funnily enough, it didn’t occur to me to really think of this as a salad, since it’s more of an amalgamation of random roasted vegetables… (especially when I first made it with broccoli instead of kale), and I think of salads as having most of their ingredients raw, not cooked, but it does seem awfully salad-like, come to think of it! :)

You are all rigth usually salad is with raw vegetables, I think it’s a traslation problem on my side, because in Italy we use to call salad (insalata) different things as cooked vegetables seasoned with oil and lemon juice :)

No don’t worry, I don’t actually think it’s a translation issue at all, because it really does look like a salad (less so with the broccoli, but more so with the kale), and not just you but so many people have now told me “that salad looks good!”

Yes, it’s good! I mean once it’s been roasted enough for the squash to get soft, you barely notice that you’re eating the peels… they get so soft, they don’t interfere with the texture of the dish as a whole, and I wouldn’t say they have a noticeable taste either– they mostly just make things more colorful. You can eat kabocha peels, too!

Thank you! I can’t take all the credit for the creativity here… it’s really very similar to Heidi Swanson’s basic recipe idea, it’s just that I got a little creative with my main ingredient (and dressing) substitutions! :)

This is such a healthy dish. I think we need to eat more like this.. My children eat veggies but still it’s challenging when I introduce new kinds of veggies. And I’m still struggling to introduce them chickpeas… my husband too! x'( Great looking dish, I’d be so happy having this for dinner and will feel great about myself!

Thanks, Nami! Yep, I’m sure it’s hard to get kids to eat vegetables. This is just as good with broccoli instead of kale if that helps!?

Chickpeas seem like they are much easier for everyone to like than dark leafy greens (that can taste very bitter to children’s taste buds…)! Does your family like chickpeas in the form of hummus? That’s probably a good place to start…